1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to nut opening devices and, specifically, to a nut splitter which is especially adapted for opening macadamia nuts.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
The macadamia tree is native to Australia and is also grown in New Zealand and Hawaii. The macadamia tree is characterized by small white flowers and an edible nut-like seed or fruit. The macadamia nut has a hard, generally spherical outer shell which contains a loose white meat similar in consistency to the Brazil nut.
Although various types of nut crackers are known in the prior art, none of these crackers are known by applicant to utilize a cutting disk to split the nut. Rather, the prior art devices have tended to have serrated jaws which are moved together to crack the nut being opened.
The present invention has as its object the provision of a nut splitter for macadamia nuts which utilizes a disk-like cutting element for splitting the nut shell.
Another object of the invention is the provision of such a nut splitter which operates by means of a double lever principle to advantageously apply force to the cutting element to split the nut.